Monarchist Profile: General Pavlo Skoropadskyi

Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi was born on May 3, 1873 in Wiesbaden, the German Empire, to an old, aristocratic Ukrainian family. The most famous ancestor of the family was Ivan Skoropadskyi who, under Tsar Peter the Great, had become Hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks (Hetman being a chieftain or head of state, originally an elected position). Pavlo’s father was a colonel in a cavalry regiment of the Russian Imperial Guard and served in the Caucasian War before becoming a local political official and his mother was also related to a number of the most prominent Ukrainian families. He grew up hearing about the long history of service his ancestors had given to Ukraine and the Russian Empire. Considering his background, it is not surprising that he decided on a military career at an early age and after his preliminary education went on to graduate from the Page Corps cadet school in St Petersburg in 1893. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Chevalier Guard cavalry regiment.

Skoropadskyi in 1904

In the following years Skoropadskyi earned several promotions and started his own family when he married Oleksandra Petrivna Durnovo, daughter of the General Governor of Moscow. When the Russo-Japanese War broke out, Skoropadskyi was given command of a company of the 2nd Chita Cossack Regiment of the Trans-Baikal Cossack Host. He distinguished himself and was moved to the staff of the commanding general of the Russian Far East and earned numerous decorations for his service during the war with Japan. In 1905 the Tsar promoted him to colonel with a place on his own military staff and in 1910 he was given command of a Finnish cavalry regiment. The following year, so great was his prestige, he was posted to the Life Guard Cavalry Regiment, the elite troops trusted with the personal security of the Tsar himself. In 1912 he was promoted to major general and, at the start of World War I, was given command of a cavalry brigade in the first guards division, part of the First Army under General Paul von Rennenkampf, who he knew from the Russo-Japanese War. Skoropadskyi earned further praise for his service in the invasion of East Prussia and for his contributions in numerous battles was promoted to divisional command and in 1916 was made a lieutenant general.

1917 saw Skoropadskyi entrusted with the command of an army corps which was later to become the First Ukrainian Corps. The troops under his command were victorious in numerous engagement, earning particular praise for his successful defense against attacks on the Romanian front. However, that was also the year that the Russian Empire began to fall apart with the revolution that brought down the monarchy, replacing it with the weak and ineffectual provisional government that tried to keep Russia in the war. The empire was coming apart at the seams and Ukraine was no exception to this chaotic trend. That same year, radical elements began to separate the Ukraine from Russia, ultimately resulting in the declaration of independence of the so-called Ukrainian People’s Republic in 1918. It became clear to Skoropadskyi that Ukraine and Russia had enemies on the home front who were a far greater threat than that posed by the German Empire and Austria-Hungary. Ukraine itself was in chaos as rival revolutionary governments struggled for power while Russia itself fell prey to the machinations of the Bolsheviks.

conversing with the Kaiser

Skoropadskyi began to make common cause with the Germans who were increasingly alarmed at the spread of revolutionary communism (though they were partly to blame for its introduction) and Skoropadskyi seemed an ideal man to work with as he had a reputation as both a solid Russian monarchist and a Ukrainian patriot. Ukraine had, effectively, become a protectorate of Germany after the Russian government was forced to come to terms with the Germans and they helped engineer the coup that brought down the Ukrainian People’s Republic and solidify Ukraine under one, nationalist, government. General Skoropadskyi was favored by the Germans, while Austria-Hungary favored a new monarchy under Archduke Wilhelm of Austria who had commanded Hapsburg Ukrainian troops in the war. However, as the dominant partner, it was the will of Germany that prevailed and Skoropadskyi was installed as Hetman of the State of Ukraine, having close contact with the Germans and even meeting with Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Naturally, because of this, his enemies on the left accused him of being a collaborator and lacking in Ukrainian nationalism. Needless to say, this was unfair as Skoropadskyi was never lacking in Ukrainian patriotism, however, he realized that Ukraine would be vulnerable alone and welcomed the cooperation of White Russian monarchists and pan-Slavic nationalists as well as the support of the Central Powers they had earlier opposed but all in order to save Ukraine from the revolutionary crisis. Despite his critics, Skoropadskyi responded in the best possible way; by delivering results. Order was restored across the Ukraine, government services began to function again, a peace was negotiated with Bolshevik Russia and diplomatic ties were established with numerous other countries which recognized the independence of the State of Ukraine. These were all things that none of the previous revolutionary governments claiming power had ever been able to achieve. He worked feverishly to build up the foundations of an independent Ukraine with infrastructure improvements and new educational institutions. Unfortunately, the time and breathing space needed to accomplish this was attained in large part due to the support of Germany and Austria-Hungary who, as 1918 wore on, were clearly losing the war.

Austria-Hungary was first to come apart and eventually Germany began to collapse as well. The revolutionaries saw their chance and began to move against the Hetman. The Russian Bolsheviks too were watching closely, letting the chaos do the hard work for them, after which they could sweep in and reclaim Ukraine with minimal effort. It all worked out entirely to the benefit of the communists. In the fall of 1918 Skoropadskyi was overthrown as the Germans pulled out. The Ukrainian People’s Republic was restored but that was a complete farce and was only temporary as the Soviets soon took over the country anyway while Skoropadskyi was forced to go into exile in Germany. This was a terrible blow to the monarchist cause in Ukraine because, although the office of “Hetman” had not originally been a strictly monarchist sort of position, Skoropadskyi had effectively made it as much and had he continued in office, there seems little doubt based on his subsequent behavior that it would have become a hereditary position and it is also true that he worked closely alongside Ukrainian and White Russian monarchists during his time in power.

While in exile, Skoropadskyi continued to work with fellow Ukrainian and Russian exiles toward the ultimate goal of seeing the Soviet usurper regime destroyed. He supported both Ukrainian independence as well as the restoration of the Russian Empire under the House of Romanov with Ukraine being a sovereign state within the framework of a broader Russian Empire, a goal not very different from that of the Russian Imperial Family today. He worked alongside various monarchists, nationalists and others of the exile community as well as maintaining contacts with various friendly factions in Germany. However, he refused to ever have anything to do with the Nazi Party which, of course, meant that this efforts would be suppressed once Hitler came to power. Still, he kept up his efforts as best he could, never relenting in his determination to see both the Ukrainian and Russian peoples freed from Soviet tyranny. In 1945, while fleeing before the advancing Red Army, he was wounded in an Allied bombing raid and died in Bavaria on April 26, 1945 at the age of 71. He was buried with the rites of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Oberstdorf and was succeeded by his son, Danylo Skoropadskyi, as leader of the Ukrainian monarchist group called the United Hetman Association. He lived in exile in Britain until he died in 1957, presumably poisoned by agents of the KGB. However, his other children have continued to carry the torch for a Ukrainian monarchy to the present day.

Pretender Profile: Prince Christian Frederick

Most are aware that the Kingdom of Norway has an ancient history, however it was not until 1807 that Norwegian nationalism triumphed to the extent of gaining their own government separate from Denmark with whom they were then united. However, after Denmark supported Napoleon the Allied powers took Norway from Denmark and passed the country to Sweden (which had lost Finland to Russia) in the Treaty of Kiel of January 14, 1814. HM King Frederick VI of Denmark agreed to these changes in order to join the Allied coalition but he neglected to consult the government in Norway itself. The Norwegians rebelled and on May 17, 1814 declared their own constitution.

The Danish Royal Family, however, had not completely forgotten about Norway and Prince Christian Frederick had been sent as Governor of Norway to strengthen ties between the Norwegian people and the Danish monarchy prior to the country being ceded over to Sweden. To be fair, some Norwegians were favorable toward the Swedish union but Prince Christian Frederick put himself at the head of those pushing for complete independence, from Denmark and Sweden, for the Kingdom of Norway. So, it seemed only natural that when the Norwegian assembly signed their constitution they elected Prince Christian Frederick to be the King of Norway. The Allies immediately demanded that the new King of Norway abide by the treaties they had signed and submit to the union with Sweden. However, King Christian Frederick stated that, as a constitutional monarch, he could not take such action on his own authority without the approval of the Norwegian government.

Naturally, the newly established Bernadotte Crown Prince of Sweden was none too pleased with these developments and promptly launched an invasion of Norway, resulting in a little war lasting about two weeks. Christian Frederick demanded that Sweden withdraw their soldiers before he would assemble the Norwegian government to discuss and vote on the possibility of political union. However, the Swedish army defeated the Norwegians who were also hampered by internal divisions with some members of the nobility opposing Christian Frederick. No countries ever recognized the independence of the Kingdom of Norway though most were also not too keen on a total war between Sweden and Norway. However, the clashes that had occurred did not give much confidence that Norway could have survived such a conflict in any event and so another convention was called.

The short-reigning King Christian Frederick of Norway abdicated his throne to the national government which agreed to a new treaty and union with Sweden. Prince Christian Frederick returned home to Denmark where he was treated with suspicion by many for his perceived liberalism. Nonetheless, although his effort to become King of Norway failed, lest anyone feel too sorry for him, he did succeed to the throne as King of Denmark in 1839 as King Christian VIII, reigning until his death in 1848.

Pretender Profile: Christina of Denmark

Probably not many have heard of Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan, but she was certainly a celebrity-royal in her own time. She was born in Nyborg, Denmark in 1522 to Christian II of Denmark and Norway and Isabella of Austria. Through her mother she was the niece of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Only the following year after she was born her father Christian II was deposed after trying to implement expansive reforms and Christine spent her childhood in the Low Countries. When she was only fourteen she was married to Francesco II Sforza, Duke of Milan but he died shortly thereafter in 1535. After this setback she returned to her childhood home in Belgium where her aunt the Dowager Queen Mary of Hungary, Governor of the Netherlands, held court. There she waited for the next marriage opportunity to come along and enjoyed the active social life of the area.

During this time King Henry VIII of England was looking for another victim, er, wife and the teenage widow was suggested as a possibility. The Duchess of Milan was renowned across Europe for her beauty and Henry sent Holbein to Brussels to paint her portrait which he was much impressed with. However, the Duchess had no desire to marry the King, famously saying that she would be willing if she had to heads to put one at his disposal, nor was Emperor Charles V too impressed with the suggestion given Henry’s treatment of his aunt, Queen Catherine. Instead, in 1541 she married Duke Francis of Bar who, in 1544, became Duke of Lorraine. It was then, as Duchess of Lorraine, that Christine began to be known as more than just a pretty face. She largely dominated her husband until his death only a year later which left Christine as regent, a position she held until the King Henri II of France invaded in 1552, removed her from power and took her son hostage.

Once again, Duchess Christina returned to Belgium where she hoped to succeed her aunt as regent of the Hapsburg Netherlands. However, the position went to Margaret of Parma and Christina returned to Lorraine where she advised her released son and acted as regent during his absences. However, her native homeland of Denmark was never far from her thoughts either. After the death of her deposed father Christina claimed the title of monarch of the Kalmar Union; Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. This was neither a nominal claim as Duchess Christina gathered an assortment of exiles and mercenaries around her to plan to restore herself to the Scandinavian thrones, then being held by her cousin King Frederick II of Denmark. Military adventures were discussed as were less warlike strategies such as arranging a marriage between Christina’s daughter, Princess Renata first to her cousin Frederick II and later to King Eric XIV of Sweden. However, one circumstance or another prevented any of these plans from being carried out.

Christina, Duchess of Milan, Duchess of Lorraine and claimant to the thrones of Denmark, Norway and Sweden passed away in 1590 in Tortona, Italy a possession left to her by her first husband and where she had lived since 1578 with a great deal of sadness after the failure to restore the throne of her father. However, in a way, her cause was finally successful since her daughter Renata was eventually married to Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria and from whom the royal families of Denmark, Norway and Sweden descend.

Pretender Profile: Bonnie Prince Charlie

There is probably no more famous royal pretender in history than “Bonnie Prince Charlie”, son of the “Old Chevalier” and grandson of King James II of Britain. His story has become the stuff of legend and he has been as unjustly vilified by the Hanoverians as he has been romanticized by Jacobites. However, as with any question of this sort in western monarchy, the cause was more important than personality and for Jacobites it was that cause; royal legitimacy, that was really what was being venerated in song and story. The romantic image of the “Young Pretender” was never meant to be an accurate depiction of the man but rather the symbol of a struggle, an icon to which could be attached various ideals from pristine, divinely ordained monarchy to the struggle against the centralization of power in Britain to Scottish nationalism. In all of that it would be easy for the prince to be lost.

Prince Charles Edward Stuart was born in Rome on December 31, 1720 and grew up in Rome and Bologna. His family life could be tumultuous but it was affectionate and like his father before him he was raised with the expectation of one day restoring the House of Stuart to the British throne. Toward this end he was given military training from an early age and first saw battle at the siege of Gaeta in 1734. He was sent to France in 1744 to lead a French army in an invasion of Britain but the plan fell through. The year before Prince Charles had been named regent by his father to give him the authority to act in his name to pursue the restoration. Plans were constantly being made which seemed more urgent the longer the German House of Hanover consolidated itself on the British throne. Finally, in 1745 the gamble was made and Charles set sail for Scotland, the home of his ancestors and where he could expect the most support.

Unfortunately for him the French fleet that was to accompany him was scattered by bad weather and he was left to fend for himself. Undeterred, he landed in the northern islands and proceeded to Glenfinnan where he rallied the highland clans (which were mostly Jacobite in sympathy regardless of religion) and raised the Stuart royal standard proclaiming his father King. However, not all of Scotland was with him. Some of the highland clans refused to join what seemed a hopeless cause and most of the lowlands were firmly loyal to the House of Hanover. Still, after enlisting the eminent soldier Lord George Murray the Prince marched on Edinburgh, capturing it without a struggle. Later, in a shocking turn of events, his Jacobite army, armed for the most part with swords rather than muskets, surprised and soundly defeated the British army of Sir John Cope at Prestonpans.

Buoyed by this victory Prince Charles, with 6,000 men, marched south into England. He hoped to rally the public to his side (King George II being far from universally popular) but aside from a few hundred English volunteers (mostly Catholic) the population either took the side of the House of Hanover or chose to sit by the sidelines to see which side would win. Prince Charles reached as far south as Derby and George II was making plans to evacuate London and return to his native Germany if the situation deteriorated. However, the government had a man in the Jacobite camp, a double agent, who assured the Scots that George II had tens of thousands of troops converging on their position. Prince Charles, having beaten the odds already in coming so far, wanted to throw caution to the wind and press on. Lord Murray and the highland chieftains, however, overruled him and ordered a retreat back to Scotland. In fact, the situation was not as hopeless as it had seemed but disaster had been averted for King George II and henceforth the winds of fortune would blow in his favor.

Prince Charles was demoralized marching north but his small army of rough warriors was still formidable. At Falkirk in January of 1746 the Jacobites won another stunning victory over the pursuing government forces of General Henry Hawley. Prince Charles wanted to take the initiative and renew the offensive after this victory but was again overruled. The efficient and ruthless Duke of Cumberland, son of George II, took over the pursuit and chased the Jacobite army from pillar to post across Scotland until they made their final stand in the far north at Culloden Moor. The battle was heroic, it was glorious and it was an utter disaster for the Jacobites. Absolutely every advantage was held by Cumberland but with bagpipes wailing and swords held high the Jacobites made one last great ‘highland charge’ and were all but annihilated. Cumberland showed no mercy and the aftermath of the battle was a scene of horrific butchery.

His spirit crushed, Prince Charles fled to the outer islands. Despite a huge bounty placed on his head by George II no one betrayed him and he made his escape with many legends, stories and songs told ever since about his harrowing flight. Picked up by a frigate he was returned to France. Charles had a daughter by a mistress he had met in Scotland during his ill-fated adventure but after the defeat at Culloden he was a broken man in every way, plagued by depression and began to drink heavily. During the Seven Years War (known in America as the French & Indian War) he was summoned to Paris to discuss his participation in a French invasion of Britain. Intoxicated and spiteful he did not react well to the grand promises of the French minister. He had heard it all before and saw what such promises were worth. France would not deal further with him and, as might have been expected, their planned 100,000-man invasion, never came off.

In 1766 his father died and the faithful few Jacobites proclaimed the prince King Charles III. However, this time there was no recognition of his title from the Pope. Most of the major powers in Europe viewed the Jacobite cause as lost and it was no longer in their interests to maintain recognition. In 1772 Charles married a Belgian princess with whom he moved to Italy. She began having an affair with an Italian artist and left the prince in 1780, claiming he had been abusive. The discarded, defeated and dispirited would-be King finally came to the end of his sad life in Rome on January 31, 1788. His remains are today buried in the crypt of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican alongside his father and brother. Jacobite remnants continued on after his death but for all intents and purposes their struggle had been decided on the cold, damp ground at Culloden and it was the hope represented in the 1745 rising and the romantic image of the young prince come to reclaim the throne of his ancestors that captured public imagination. It is also, for obvious reasons, that image which most prefer to remember rather than the tragic fate of the man himself once known as “Bonnie Prince Charlie”.

Pretender Profile: King James VIII & III

Ordinarily the birth of an heir to the throne is an occasion of great joy; the hope of stability and the future of a dynasty. However, the birth of Prince James Edward Francis Stuart, first son King James II of Britain and Queen Mary of Modena, brought about war, upheaval and the effective fall of a dynasty that had reigned in Britain since 1371. The prince, who would become known as “The Old Chevalier” and “The Old Pretender” was born at St James Palace on June 10, 1688 and was soon thereafter baptized into the Roman Catholic Church of his parents and this was the “problem” with the newborn prince. He represented the potential of a Catholic British dynasty and this was something that those with power in the country were not willing to tolerate. First, his legitimacy was called into question and the King even ordered a formal investigation to remove all doubt but it was all rather pointless. William of Orange soon landed with a Dutch army and the Protestant elites rushed to his banner. The Queen and Prince James were sent to safety in France while the King struggled (unsuccessfully) to maintain his throne.

The Prince was brought up in France and upon the death of his father in 1701 was recognized by British Jacobites as King James VIII of Scotland and III of England. The King of France, the King of Spain, the Pope and the little Italian Duchy of Modena also recognized him as the legitimate monarch of the ‘three kingdoms’. As a result of this he was declared a criminal by his half-sister and brother-in-law in London, King William III and Queen Mary II, who declared him a traitor the following year. As a boy ‘King James III’ had been prepared by his father for the one paramount goal of restoring the House of Stuart to the British throne and holding fast to their Catholic faith. Not all Jacobites were Catholic and some Protestant Tories pointed out to James that as William of Orange was not terribly popular he would greatly increase his chances of success in restoring the Stuarts if he would reject Catholicism and become an Anglican. This, he adamantly refused to do. His father had only become more religious during his years in exile and although James III made it clear he stood for religious toleration, he would never abandon the Catholic Church no matter how much it might benefit him politically.

In 1708 James III made his first effort to restore himself to the British throne and King Louis XIV of France made a major commitment to supporting him. James sailed from Dunkirk with a considerable French fleet and some 6,000 French troops however, the British Royal Navy (loyal to Queen Anne, successor of William III, daughter of James II and thus half-sister to James III) intercepted the fleet and hounded it all the way around Scotland and back to France. Still, he did not lose hope. When his sister Queen Anne died in 1714 the government had to go looking quite far to find a suitably Protestant prince to take the throne, finally settling on Prince George, Elector of Hanover. In the past Protestants had often stirred up xenophobic support by associating Catholicism with being “foreign” (unlike the homemade Church of England). Now, that same devotion to Protestantism had brought a rather reluctant distant German cousin to the throne in preference to the son of a born and bred British king.

James thought, with the fairly unpopular German King George I in power in London, the British public might be willing to rise in his favor if he could mount a comeback. However, it would not be easy. Only the year before France and Spain had been forced to make peace with the British and part of the peace was a British demand that James III be expelled from France (having him next door was too big a worry). In many ways it seemed like this was the last chance he would have to claim the throne of his father. In 1715 he wrote to the Earl of Mar who rallied the chieftains of the highland clans in Scotland and proclaimed James their king. They secured the highlands fairly quickly, occupied Perth and attracted an army of about 8,000 men. However, the Duke of Argyll opposed them and the government in London began arresting anyone whose loyalty was the least bit suspect which squashed potential risings in other parts of Britain before they could get off the ground.

Fighting raged off and on in Scotland to little effect. When James arrived at Peterhead via a French ship he found the rising going nowhere and he himself was suffering from illness and unable to take a decisive leadership role. The Jacobites were ultimately defeated and James was forced to retreat to Montrose where he boarded a ship bound for the continent; he had rolled the dice and lost. Back in Europe Pope Innocent XIII gave James a palace in Rome and a pension to support him while in Britain sparks of hope lingered. During “the ‘15” many Scots had opposed James III but in the aftermath the government crackdown in Scotland caused opposition to George of Hanover to grow and nostalgia for the Stuarts to increase. In 1719 Spain gave support to another effort at a Jacobite uprising but it failed as well.

That same year James III married Maria Clementina Sobieska, granddaughter of King John III of Poland by whom he would eventually have two sons; Charles and Henry. Like his father before him James spent his time in prayer and preparing his son and heir Charles to restore the Stuarts. In time this developed into the Jacobite uprising of 1745 when the young Prince Charles landed in Scotland after a storm scattered the French ships meant to support him and a worrisome King of France withdrew his promise of military support. Nonetheless, Charles raised the Stuart standard and proclaimed his father king once again. Most of the highland clans rallied to him, Edinburgh was occupied and a stunning victory was won at Prestonpans. Fortunes seemed to be turning.

This time the Jacobites marched south into England, reaching as far as Derby before the chieftains lost their nerve and turned back. The Jacobites won another victory at Falkirk but continued to retreat. In 1746 at the battle of Culloden they were decisively defeated and Prince Charles only narrowly escaped back to Europe. James was disheartened though he always held out at least some hope that the Stuarts could one day be restored. French plans for another restoration attempt in Ireland were made but never got far beyond the drawing board. The Old Pretender, King James VIII of Scotland and III of England to his loyal Jacobites, died in Rome on New Year’s day 1766. He was buried in the crypt at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Pretender Profile: Prince Quentin of Hawaii

The United States of America is home to a number of leaders of the traditional variety, but none ever achieved the status of an independent, internationally recognized kingdom like the state of Hawaii did. Hawaii is unique in that regard, being the only state in the union that was an independent monarchy prior to admission and thus it is the only state that is home to an official royal palace that once housed a royal family. It is not then surprising that the (generally recognized) heir to the Hawaiian throne is unique among royal pretenders. The native Hawaiian community (actually a tiny minority on the islands these days) recognize him as royalty but, rest assured unionists, he makes no claim to his rightful throne nor does he push for the secession of Hawaii and restoration of the monarchy.

The would-be King of Hawaii was born Quentin Kuhio Kawananakoa on September 28, 1961 in San Francisco, California to Prince Edward A. Kawananakoa and Carolyn Willison Kawananakoa. His great-grandfather was the successor of the last Queen of Hawaii as head of the royal family, though the status of Prince Quentin is contested by his ninth cousin twice removed, Prince Kalokuokamaile III from a much older branch of the family. Prince Quentin grew up with his parents in Honolulu where he was educated before attending the University of Southern California. After graduation he returned to Hawaii to go to the William S. Richardson School of Law from which he graduated and worked with a local law firm in O’ahu until 2000.

In 1994 he entered the political arena in Hawaii running as a member of the Republican Party for the office of state representative. His platform was pretty standard for the GOP, capitalism, free enterprise, low taxes and the like. He won the election and served in the Hawaii State House of Representatives until 1998, becoming a leading figure in the Republican Party of Hawaii. A year after taking office he married Elizabeth Broun of Barbados and in the years that followed the couple have had two children, both sons, Kincaid and Riley.

On July 29, 1997 Prince Quentin became head of the Hawaiian royal family, despite having two older brothers. The firstborn, Prince Edward, was extremely handicapped and so was excluded from the succession by his father and the second son, Prince David, renounced his rights in favor of his younger brother Quentin who took his place upon the death of their father. His political star continued to rise and he decided to run for Congress but retired from politics for a time after a health scare. For the next eight years he recovered and kept a low profile before announcing his return to politics by challenging Congressman Ed Case for his seat in the U.S. Congress in April of 2006. However, during the Republican Party primary Prince Quentin was defeated by State Senator Robert Hogue by a slim margin. Hogue himself went on to be defeated by the Democrat Party candidate Mazie Hirono (Hawaii being generally a very liberal state).

In 2008 Prince Quentin tried to get his old job back and ran for the State House of Representatives again but lost to the Democrat Chris Kalani Lee. Prince Quentin attends numerous native Hawaiian festivities during the year, sits on a number of significant boards and committees and the like. He also oversees the extensive properties of the late James Campbell (an American industrialist who married into the native Hawaiian nobility).

Last Bow of the Jacobites

Today marks the anniversary of the last battle fought on British soil; the battle of Culloden moor in the north of Scotland in 1746. It was the last battle in the fight to restore the Stuarts to the British throne and is generally remembered as the last charge of the highland clans. It is often forgotten that the 45 Uprising was a fight for the whole of the British Isles and the Jacobite army included men from England, Scotland and Ireland while the Hanoverian army included many foreign mercenaries from Europe. However, the battle does hold a special significance for Scotland, especially given the atrocities that happened afterward and the suppression of Scottish culture that followed. It was the end of the old, traditional system of organization and loyalties of the highland clans. It many ways it was the end of an era, the last of the old and the first of the new when it came to both tactics and politics. Men fought for the Stuarts for personal reasons, men fought for the Hanoverians for political reasons. It was a victory for modernity, for the current form of the parliamentary monarchy and in a way a victory of reason over romance. It was also the end of the Jacobites as a viable group of opposition. When revolution came to North America many former Jacobites fought for King George III against the republican revolutionaries.
I would hope that enough good grace is left in Great Britain to show tolerance and kindness to the vanquished in that last British civil war. With the battle of Culloden the Jacobites were finished and everyone, deep down, knew it. Henry Cardinal York seemingly endorsed the house of Hanover in the person of King George III and so, given all of that, I would ask the modern-day Hanoverians not to be too hard on the modern-day Jacobites and let them keep their vision and their ideals as it is all they have left. Every Jacobite I have ever met supports the British monarchy, they know that the Duke of Bavaria is never going to press his claim and they would rather have any monarchy rather than the nightmarish lie that a British republic would be. They simply want their history and traditions treated with the dignity they deserve for it was very noble ideals and principles that those men who charged across the moor at Culloden were fighting for; legitimate royal authority, loyalty to their rightful king, their ancient traditions and rights and de-centralized over centralized government.
Who can say what would have happened if they had won? I would like to think that the monarchy would be stronger, the succession out of political hands, parliament would understand that they answer to the Crown and the Crown does not answer to them and maybe the Sovereign would veto something once and a while (like the EU agreements that threaten UK independence). Maybe things would have not reached the point of no return with Ireland but of course no one can know that for sure. Just in case it is though, and just out of respect for what those wild highlanders at Culloden were fighting for their memory should be honored.